Chicago police released dramatic video of a gunman accused of shooting an officer at close range before he was also gunned down.
Officer Erik Moreno’s bodycam showed the tense moment when the officer walked toward a silver Toyota Camry being driven by Jerome Halsey, 27, during a traffic stop in West Englewood on June 5.
As he runs to the car in a dead end, Moreno shouts: “Stay in the car, don’t move!”
Halsey then rushes out the door and points a pistol at the officer, and the two exchange a violent volley of bullets, hitting Moreno twice in the arm and torso.
In the chaos, one of the officers gets a clean show of Halsey being hit in the body, falling to the ground at the end of the shootout.
Moreno groans in pain and immediately falls back, bleeding, behind a squad car while police take Halsey into custody.
Both men survived the exchange and Halsey was charged with two counts of attempted murder.
Chicago Police Department released bodycam and surveillance video of a violent shootout between officers and Jerome Halsey, 27, (second from left)
Officer Erik Moreno’s bodycam shows that the officer had yelled at Halsey to stay in his car, but the man quickly opens the door, armed with a pistol pointed at Moreno
Halsey fires at Moreno (left), who retreats after being hit in the arm and torso. A fellow officer manages to shoot Halsey, who falls to the ground with a hit (right)
Halsey (pictured) has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and assault
While video from Moreno’s bodycam ends with the officer bleeding by the side of the road while his colleagues provide assistance, footage from another officer’s bodycam shows the aftermath.
When the officer arrives at the scene, Halsey is already out of the car and lying flat on the ground, bleeding.
Officers handcuff him and ask about his condition, but the 27-year-old doesn’t respond, so they work quickly to get him to an ambulance.
Surveillance footage of the scene also shows Halsey fleeing officers in his car, sped down the one-way street, and then attempted to backtrack before officers blocked his path.
Prosecutors said Halsey drove erratically, and officers said he had a bad brake light that triggered traffic control.
Officers got out of their car because of Halsey’s driving “with padded guns,” prosecutors told Fox 32 in a statement, and fired.
Despite the injuries, Moreno was released from the University of Chicago Medical Center last week.
In addition to the attempted murder charges, Halsey also faces aggravated assault and aggravated assault.
Prosecutors said Halsey was pulled over because of a broken brake light and erratic driving as he turned down a dead-end street and police blocked his exit
Moreno was released from hospital last week after recovering from his injuries
Shooting continues to ravage the Windy City as a five-month-old baby becomes the latest murder victim in a crime-ridden weekend.
The baby, Cecilia Thomas, was in a car with her father when she was shot in the head in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago on Friday night.
Police say Thomas was killed after an unidentified woman opened fire on the family’s car in a car shootout. The baby was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
A 41-year-old man traveling in a separate car was also hit in the incident and suffered a gunshot wound to the eye. He is said to be in stable condition.
The gunman fled the scene and police currently have no suspects in custody. Community activist Ja’Mal Green, who is running for mayor, has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Thomas’s killer.
Meanwhile, outraged residents are calling on lawmakers to take action after at least 20 people were shot dead in the crime-ridden city over the weekend.
CBS News named Chicago, which has a homicide rate of 18.26 per 100,000 people, the 28th deadliest city in America earlier this year.
Five-month-old Cecilia Thomas was in a car with her father when she was shot in the head in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago on Friday night
Thomas was killed after an unidentified woman opened fire on the family’s car in a drive-by shooting
A 41-year-old man traveling in a separate car was also hit in the incident and suffered a gunshot wound to the eye. He is said to be in stable condition. Police are pictured at the scene of the shooting
Thomas’ father was driving home around 6:45 p.m. Friday when gunshots rang out in the 7700 block of South Shore Drive.
The concerned father pulled over near the intersection of 71st Street and Candon Avenue after Thomas started crying, a witness told ABC 7.
He called for help and Thomas was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital where she later died. The coroner’s office said she died from a gunshot wound to the head.
At least a dozen family members of the infant gathered outside the hospital as doctors tried to save her life.
“I hope you catch whoever did this,” yelled a woman at the scene. ‘Took the life of that damn baby.’
Violent crime is still rampant in Chicago
Violent crime is still rampant in Chicago, despite Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledging to take action on crime.
According to the latest statistics from the Chicago Police Department, homicides are up a whopping 23 percent since 2019 — before the pandemic triggered an influx of crime onto the city’s streets — with 282 homicides recorded since the beginning of the year, compared to 230 seen in 2019.
The number of homicides has also risen since June 2020, after the peak of the pandemic lockdown, when 291 homicides were still a concern.
Violent assaults have also risen, with 2,553 cases of aggravated assault reported so far this year. As of June 2021, the city had registered 2,516 cases.
Sexual assault and rape have declined this year, with the city recording nine fewer incidents this year than it did in 2021.
Petty crime, such as theft, has also risen by a whopping 65 percent from 4,712 to 7,770 incidents since last year.
Gun violence — arguably the city’s most pressing and prevalent problem — declined slightly, from 1,381 shootings last year to 1,148 so far in 2022.
However, compared to the shootings of 2019, before the city’s unprecedented crime spree, gun violence rates have risen astronomically by 44 percent.